It's Derby Week!

One of the things on my "Bucket List" was to attend the Kentucky Derby just once in my life.  I didn't want to party in the infield with a bunch of people who wouldn't even see the race.  I wanted to sit in the stands.  I wanted to sip mint julips under the rim of my especially bought hat. I wanted to sing My Old Kentucky Home.   I wanted to bet on a winner.

In 1999, a friend of mine, whose son was the lawyer for the National Thoroughbred Horse Racing Association, took me to the Derby.  Because of her son's connections we sat high in the stands on Millionaire's Row!  I stood next to the owner of the horse I bet most heavily on, "Stephen Got Even."
He told me the story of how the horse got its name.  We all sang "My Old Kentucky Home, and as I do every year, I got so choked up I couldn't finish the song. 

Well, Stephen didn't get even, though he led most of the race.  That was the year that Charismatic, a long shot at
 50 - 1, beat the field!  The only person around me who bet on the winner was a woman who said she just liked the name!

Charismatic went on to win the Preakness, and at the Belmont was on the way to becoming a Triple Crown winner when he broke his leg.  For almost a year they tried to save the horse, but in the end he lost that race.

So here is my tribute to Derby Week.